enjoyment of this trust, for he was poisoned by Pompey’s party.  But Scipio, sent by Pompey to slay Alexander, son of Aristobulus, cut off his head at Antioch.  And Ptolemy, son of Menneus, ruler of Chalcis, took Alexander’s brethren to him, and sent his son Philippion to Askelon to Aristobulus’s wife, and desired her to send back with him her son Antigonus and her daughters; the one of whom, Alexandra, Philippion fell in love with, and married her; though afterwards his father Ptolemy slew him, and married Alexandra.

Now, after Pompey was dead, and after the victory Caesar had gained over him, Antipater, who had managed the Jewish affairs, became very useful to Caesar when he made war against Egypt, and that by the order of Hyrcanus.  He brought over to the side of Caesar the principal men of the Arabians, and also Jamblicus, the ruler of the Syrians, and Ptolemy, his son, and Tholomy, the son of Sohemus, who dwelt at Mount Libanus, and almost all the cities, and with 3,000 armed Jews he joined Mithradates of Pergamus, who was marching with his auxiliaries to aid Caesar.  Antipater and Mithradates together won a pitched battle against the Egyptians, and Caesar not only then commended Antipater, but used him throughout that war in the most hazardous undertakings, and finally, at the end of that campaign, made him procurator of Judea, at the same time appointing Hyrcanus high-priest.  Antipater, seeing that Hyrcanus was of a slow and slothful temper, made his eldest son, Phaselus, governor of Jerusalem; but committed Galilee to his next son, Herod, who was only fifteen, but was a youth of great mind, and soon proved his courage, and won the love of the Syrians by freeing their country of a nest of robbers, and slaying the captain of these, one Hezekias.

Thus Herod became known to Sextus Caesar, a relation of the great Caesar, who was now president of Syria.  Now, the growing reputation of Antipater and his sons excited the envy of the principal men among the Jews, especially as they saw that Herod was violent and bold, and was capable of acting tyrannically.  So they accused him before Hyrcanus of encroaching on the government, and of transgressing the laws by putting men to death without their condemnation by the sanhedrin.  Protecting Herod, whom he loved as his own son, from the sanhedrin when they would have sentenced him to death, Hyrcanus aided him to flee to Damascus, where he took refuge with Sextus Caesar.  When Herod received the kingdom, he slew all the members of that sanhedrin excepting Sameas, whom he respected because he persuaded the people to admit Herod into the city, and he even slew Hyrcanus also.

Now, when Caesar was come to Rome, and was ready to sail into Africa to fight against Scipio and Cato, Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to him, desiring the ratification of the league of friendship between them.  Not only Caesar but the senate heaped honours on the ambassadors, and confirmed the understanding that subsisted.  But during the disorders that arose after the death of Caesar, Cassius came into Syria and disturbed Judea by exacting great sums of money.  Antipater sought to gather the great tax demanded from Judea, and was foully slain by a collector named Malichus, on whom Herod quickly took vengeance for the murder of his father.  By his energy in obtaining the required tax, Herod gained new favour with Cassius.